


Sonny

by BlueLotus



Category: A-Team (2010)
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, Halloween, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-06
Updated: 2011-11-06
Packaged: 2017-10-25 18:39:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/273499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueLotus/pseuds/BlueLotus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little Halloween fun with the guys turns into something more sinister when Murdock's new 'friend' isn't all he seems to be....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sonny

"Can we get a tree?"

Face looked up from where he was watching a lunchtime TV soap opera. "A tree?"

"Yeah."

"But it's not Christmas yet, buddy," he stated and narrowed his eyes watching Murdock fidget on the kitchen chair and chew his lips. "You want a ...Halloween tree?"

"Kinda," the pilot mumbled. Face muted the TV and heaved himself up from the ratty sofa he was lying on, walked over to the table and sighed. Murdock had cut out all the Halloween articles from every magazine and newspaper in the house and meticulously stuck them all in a scrap book.

And Face's heart ached a little for him.

The house they were currently staying at was miles away from anywhere, so secluded that even the mailman seemed to have problems finding it!

"I figure that if we ain't gonna have a proper Halloween, we should have a tree," Murdock shrugged. Face sat down next to him and nudged the scrap book over.

"A proper Halloween?" he prompted as his fingers traced over the neatly pasted pictures of ghosts and ghouls, witches and all things creepy.

"Yeah, like we used to do, remember Facey?"

Face smiled despite himself, as memories from their Halloween antics in Iraq filled his head. Oh yeah... good times.

This year was going to be their first Halloween together since then, barring the six months they were incarcerated.

"I'm gonna miss the trick or treatin'," Murdock sighed.

"Hey, who says we can't have trick or treat?" Face said and sat back.

"But it won't be much fun with no one to trick on, Facey," the pilot frowned. "An' what about the kiddies? We ain't got no treats for them either."

Well, it wasn't like they were going to get kid's calling at their door this year, being in the ass end of the back of beyond.

"We got BA an' the boss to play tricks on," Face pointed out softly, sighing again when Murdock's head lowered with a soft 'yeah, I know'.

"Tell you what," Face sat up straighter and rubbed a hand down the pilot's arm. "What say we go into town an' get us some Halloween stuff? Brighten this place up. Yeah, buddy?"

A small smile lifted Murdock's lips. Face nudged him.

"C'mon... candy, pumpkins, ghoulies... we'll even get you a costume," Face coaxed with a grin. It had the desired effect and Murdock grinned back.

"Ooo I wanna be a spaceman!" he announced eagerly and stood up, the chair scraping loudly across the floor. Face smiled at the pilot's child-like excitement.

"Sounds good to me, buddy," he chuckled, before shouting towards the study where Hannibal was, "Boss, we're goin' shoppin' for spacesuits!"

The absent minded acknowledgement from Hannibal was lost on them as they bounced out of the door to the car.

In the study, Hannibal blinked and looked up. Spacesuits?

^v^A^v^

The Maine town was tiny. Typically touristy and very quaint, with many of the New England buildings still featuring the original nineteenth century characteristics, but it had nearly everything a small community would need. Including a curiosity shop.

The bell jingled as they walked through the door, and Murdock's eyes immediately lit up at the shelves littered with everything interesting and wonderful. Even Face was impressed. There were ancient artefacts, coins from every country in the world, Victorian antiques, top of the range laptop computers, toys from almost every era, and clothes... Face had never seen so many designer names in one place before! His eyes landed on a black vintage Gucci crushed velvet jacket.

"Oooo Facey!" Murdock's voice drifted over to him from somewhere in the shop, and giving the jacket a last look, Face went to find him.

"What ya got there, bud?" he asked when he saw the pilot leaning over and peering into a box. Face jumped when Murdock suddenly stood up and pushed a creepy looking doll into his face.

"Ain't he great?" the pilot grinned, looking at the doll - a ventriloquist dummy. Face glanced warily at the hideous thing, evilly manic looking black eyes and twisted wooden mouth, and pulled a face. "Aw, he's kinda cute, though," Murdock cooed when he saw Face's expression. "Ain't ya?"

The dummy's head twisted and it looked at Face, nodding with the movement of Murdock's hand shoved inside it.

"I'm cute, Facey," it said, and Face blinked. Murdock laughed.

"That was me, Facey," he said. "I'm a ventriloquist! Didn't you know?"

"Um no, buddy," Face answered, his eyes caught in the dead stare of the dummy's. Of course he knew it was Murdock that had spoke, he wasn't stupid, but the doll just creeped him out.

"I changed my mind," the pilot suddenly announced. "I wanna be a ventriloquist instead of a spaceman." He pulled his hand from the dummy's body and folded it back into its case. "Can I, Facey?"

Face smiled. It was just a stupid doll. "'Course you can, buddy," he said and Murdock picked up the case, with the name 'Sonny' printed on it in faded red letters.

"I'll take the Halloween themed fairy lights and that box of candles and decorations, too," Face smiled at the cashier as Murdock place Sonny on the counter. The grey haired woman, dressed like she'd never left the sixties, stacked Face's purchases and rung up the total on her antique register. Face handed over his latest scammed credit card.

"I see you decided to adopt Sonny," she mused curiously. Murdock nodded, huge grin fixed firmly on his face. "Well, take good care of him, he's an old boy. And don't forget that when you need to bring him back, you're very welcome to."

Murdock blinked slightly confused, "Excuse me?"

"I said if you ever need to bring him back, my door is always open," she smiled softly. The pilot gave the woman an odd look... he couldn't think of any reason he'd ever want to bring Sonny back. And he pulled the case towards him, gathering it to his chest protectively.

The transaction finished, Face picked up the decorations and turned to head out of the shop.

"Take care, boys, see you soon," the woman smiled knowingly as Face and Murdock walked out of the door.

"What d'ya think that meant?" the pilot asked when they loaded the boxes into the car next to the pumpkins they'd bought earlier, and then climbed in. Face shrugged and started the engine. He listened to it purr for a moment as he watched Murdock pull the dummy from its case and sit Sonny on his knee. God, the thing seriously gave him the creeps.

"I can't drive with that thing looking at me, Murdock," he frowned uncomfortably, flicking his eyes up to the pilot when he burst out laughing.

"It's a dummy, silly," Murdock chuckled. He looked at the doll and twisted the head round to meet its gaze. "You're just a dummy, right, Sonny?"

"Yeah, Facey, I'm just a dummy," it said, staring mockingly at Face. Face saw Murdock's lips move as it spoke and shook his head.

"It's an ugly dummy," he mumbled and shifted the gears into drive. The dummy's mouth snapped shut.

^v^A^v^

Three hours later, the house looked like a film set from a low budget cheesy horror movie. Fake spider's webs hung from every conceivable nook, complete with freaky spiders, the festive orange Halloween fairy lights, with little plastic shapes of pumpkins covering the bulbs, were draped over the fire place and weaved in and out of the staircase spindles. Face had painstakingly tacked dozens of small black cardboard bat shapes all around the walls and ceilings, and Murdock had arranged all the candles they'd bought around the house, and lit every single one.

And with the scary looking Jack O' Lanterns they'd carved from the pumpkins, it actually looked quite good.

"Oh wow, Facey, looks amazing," Murdock breathed in wonder when they stood back and admired all their hard work. "Doesn't it, Sonny?"

Face's head whipped round and he stared at the dummy. God, why did he buy Murdock the damned thing?

"Sonny thinks it looks good, too," Murdock added with a big smile. The dummy turned its eyes to Face's and the head nodded. Face frowned.

He could understand now why some people were afraid of clowns. That dummy was gonna give him fucking nightmares.

"Nice job, kids," Hannibal's rich smoky voice sounded behind them. Face watched as the boss stood and looked curiously at Murdock and his doll. "Murdock?"

"Oh, bossman, meet Sonny," he grinned and shifted the dummy towards the colonel. "Sonny, bossman."

"Hello Sonny," Hannibal indulged his pilot.

"Hello Hannibal," the dummy said and Hannibal laughed.

"Hey, that's pretty good, Murdock. Didn't know you could do ventriloquism."

"Full o' surprises, me," Murdock beamed and trotted off to find BA and introduce him to Sonny, too.

"I thought he wanted to be a spaceman," Hannibal said when he was left alone with Face. The lieutenant sighed and pursed his lips.

"I wish he did," he said. "That... thing, that dummy... Freaks me out."

"What?" Hannibal grinned, finding that notion highly amusing. "Big bad Ranger freaked out by a doll?"

"Oh shut up," Face grinned back and let Hannibal guide him to the sofa.

"Make me," Hannibal challenged, and Face, never one to turn down an easy challenge, leaned in and effectively shut his lover up with a deep, possessive kiss.

Hannibal quickly drew away and licked his lips with a grimace. "What _have_ you been eating?"

Grinning, Face offered the bowl of candy cones to Hannibal, who politely declined and decided that a little sugar flavoured Face wasn't that bad and grabbed the kid's head again.

"God, boss, want you," Face gasped heavily when Hannibal's hands slid down his body and skilful fingers massaged his growing erection through his jeans.

"You always want me," Hannibal chuckled and deftly made light work of Face's zipper. He pushed his hand inside the warm boxers and worked his lover's shaft. Face bucked into the sensation.

"Fuck!" he bleated and Hannibal clamped his hand over his lover's mouth, very mindful that they were still in the living room, and that BA and Murdock could walk in any minute.

And that thought sent excited shivers shooting up and down Hannibal's spine.

He worked Face faster, encouraged by the warm, moist panted breaths against his palm, until Face stiffened under him, and he quickly yanked his hand from his lover's mouth and swallowed the desperate cries all the way through Face's orgasm.

Seconds later, Hannibal withdrew his fist from its warm cocoon of Face's pants and looked at his fingers, all shiny and sticky with come. He brought his hand close to his face and inhaled, the rich, musky, sweet scent of his lover filling his nostrils, and he closed his eyes and slowly licked his hand clean, his tongue curling around each digit, stroking across his palm, lapping up every drop of Face from his skin.

When he finished, he turned to see Face staring at him, pupils blown and breathing heavily. Hannibal swallowed hard at the look of sheer lust on the kid's face, and startled when he suddenly had an arm full of a frantic lieutenant and a mouth full of an insistent and needy tongue.

"Fuck, boss... So fuckin' sexy, so hot... Jesus..." the kid panted in between kisses, pushing his tongue in deep, licking over Hannibal's lips, chin and down his neck, chest... and mere seconds later, that sinfully talented mouth swallowing his rock hard cock.

"Jesus CHRIST!" Hannibal yelped and instantly shoved his fist in his mouth, teeth biting into his knuckles, leaving red marks, as Face sucked him hard and fast. His hips bucked and stuttered, his breath gasped... Face was amazing at giving head!

And his tongue...? Fuck! Hannibal always thought his lover's tongue should be registered as a lethal weapon!

Because the kid was gonna _kill_ him!

Face wasted no time, and licked and sucked his lover to completion, holding on tight as Hannibal's orgasm exploded down his throat.

"Mmmm," Face grinned smugly as he moved back up Hannibal's body, tongue sliding slowly over slick lips. Hannibal let his head fall back and fist drop from his mouth.

"Fuck, kid," he breathed, awkwardly tucking himself away and fumbling with his zipper under the weight of his lover. Face shifted slightly and Hannibal managed his task with a sigh. "You... you need to..."

"What?" Face asked and licked across Hannibal's mouth. The colonel closed his eyes and swallowed. God give me strength, he thought...

"Zipper, kid," he mumbled, automatically opening is mouth to that determined, questing tongue. They kissed a little more, slow and lazily, until Hannibal pulled back, "Face..."

"Hmm?"

"Zipper, kid," he repeated.

"What about it?" Face murmured and leaned in again, stroking his tongue sensually across Hannibal's mouth. The older man moaned and opened up again, unable to stop himself.

Tilting his head, Hannibal devoured his lover, eliciting a soft growl from Face as things heated up between them again. He could feel all his blood rushing south and his cock filling, pushing up uncomfortably against his jeans, and the prominent bulge in his partner's boxers, and knew he had to stop this before he ended up throwing all caution to the wind and Face down onto the floor and attempt to fuck him through it.

"Face, no..." he tried around the purposely thrusting tongue in his mouth. "Ssstop, wait... Get... off..."

"Hmmm... Yeah, tryin' to, boss..." Face moaned huskily, his body undulating shamelessly against Hannibal's.

"No. C'mon, kid," the older man gasped and grabbed Face's biceps, blew out a frustrated breath and heaved the kid up.

"Boss?" Face blinked, lips kiss-swollen and wet, eyes hungry and confused.

"Not here, baby," Hannibal swallowed. "Bedroom. Later..."

A slow grin curved Face's mouth and he nodded. "I'll hold you to that, boss," he promised and flopped to the side, quickly fastening his pants up and making himself look decent.

It was a second later that Hannibal thanked whatever Gods were watching them, that they'd managed to stop when they did, as Murdock came flying into the living room, BA hot on his heels.

"Facey! Help me!" he squealed, Sonny securely held to his chest, a maniacal giddiness in his tone. He jumped onto the sofa and huddled protectively into the lieutenant.

"Hannibal, man, he drivin' me fuckin' nuts, wit' his fool dummy!" BA growled, his lip curling menacingly over his teeth.

Hannibal glanced over at his pilot and saw the mischievous grin. He shook his head.

"No I ain't, bossman, he jus' don't like Sonny," Murdock whined from the vicinity of Face's armpit.

"Crazy sayin' stupid shit an' tellin' me it's that fuckin' doll," BA huffed angrily. "An' I ain't likin' it."

"But it was Sonny sayin' that," Murdock answered. "I swear, Bosco!"

Oh, this was new. Lying? Hannibal frowned at Murdock. The pilot's huge blue-green eyes looked back at him pleadingly.

"What did Sonny say?" Face asked and BA scowled at him, thinking he was humouring the fool. "No, seriously, BA... What-"

"Said I spen' all o' my time on my van 'cause you guys don' like me," the big guy said and stared coldly at the pilot. Face blinked, a little shocked. Hannibal narrowed his eyes.

"Murdock-"

"It was Sonny, Facey! I'd never say that to Bosco. I love Bosco, you know I do," Murdock argued emphatically. Face looked at the dummy squashed between himself and the pilot.

"Did you tell Sonny that wasn't a very nice thing to say, buddy?" he asked, knowing accusing Murdock outright was the wrong tactic here.

"O'course I did, Facey, an' he said he was sorry," the pilot nodded, pleading eyes flicking up to BA and Hannibal, too.

"Just make sure _Sonny_ doesn't upset BA again, Murdock," Hannibal added.

"He won't, he won't, I promise," the pilot agreed and pulled Sonny upright. "Ain't that right, Sonny?"

"Yes, sir," the dummy answered clearly, and even BA couldn't hide a smirk when Murdock's lips obviously moved that time.

Face frowned at the doll, suppressing a shiver of discomfort that made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, and eased his body away from Murdock.

Was he really afraid of the thing?

"You okay, kid?"

Turning, Face saw that he was practically sitting in Hannibal's lap, and felt heat flush his cheeks. The accompanying chuckle from his lover didn't help.

"Hey, Facey, you alright?"

Both Murdock's and the dummy's eyes were staring at him. Face nodded and quickly stood up, feigning cramp.

"Yeah, you were squashin' me, buddy, s'all," he shrugged flexing his fingers, deliberately not looking at the dead black eyes of the doll on Murdock's lap.

Both BA and Hannibal looked at him slightly amused, and Face frowned. "What?"

"Oh, nothing', kid," the colonel smiled knowingly. BA just shook his head and chuckled softly to himself. Face frowned harder.

"What?"

"You ain't scared o' Sonny, are ya, Facey?" Murdock asked after a beat, his amused grin matching BA and Hannibal's.

"Fuck off," Face scoffed and laughed at the absurdity of the notion. Him, a Ranger... scared of a ventriloquist dummy?

But he couldn't bring himself to look at the fucking thing without flinching.

A few seconds past and then BA clapped his hands together making Face jump. "Well, I gotta get back to the van," he grunted, adding seriously, "Stay outta my garage, Murdock!"

The pilot sighed but nodded, folded his dummy in half and tucked it under his arm. "I'm gonna go count the chocolate chips for the cookies," he murmured and stood up.

"Hey, you okay, buddy?" Face asked when he heard Murdock's quiet tone. The pilot shrugged and looked down.

"I'm sure you didn't mean to upset BA, Murdock," Face continued softly. Still Murdock stayed silent. "C'mon, buddy, you know he'll be okay. Especially if you bake him extra cookies."

That worked, and Murdock looked up with a huge grin brightening up his face. He nodded and bounced out of the room. Hannibal blew out a breath and stood up with Face.

"You know, we'll have to address this behaviour with him sometime, kid," he said quietly. "Sayin' stuff like that, and then lying, deliberately..."

"Yeah," Face nodded. He sighed. "I'll talk to him."

Hannibal rubbed a hand up Face's back and squeezed his neck, small smile appearing on his lips. He leaned in close and asked, "So, you really automatonophobic?"

Face blinked. Automa-what?

"Y'know, afraid of ventriloquist dummies," Hannibal clarified, twinkle of amusement back in his blue eyes. The young man pulled a face and rolled his eyes. That sounded like a fucking stupid phobia, if ever he heard one.

"No, I'm not," he said. His eyes drifted towards the door and he winced, admitting softly, "Just that one gives me the creeps."

Shaking his head fondly, Hannibal leaned in and nuzzled behind his lover's ear, loving the involuntary shiver that shook Face's body in reaction. "I gotta go do a perimeter," he murmured softly.

"I... I can do that, boss," Face offered, but Hannibal shook his head.

"Nah, you go keep Murdock company, kid. I'll be back in twenty," he said and with one last peck on the lips, he left. Face smiled as he watched his lover straighten his pants and tuck his shirt back in on the way out.

^v^A^v^

"Hey, buddy, you need any help?" Face asked as he walked into the kitchen. Murdock spun around, wooden spoon in one hand, measuring jug in the other. He was wearing a vinyl apron with an image of a scantily clad, busty woman printed on the front. Face smiled.

"Oh, Facey! Yeah, can you pass me the eggs, they're on the table," the pilot grinned.

"Sure thing, buddy," Face nodded and turned to the table. And stopped in his tracks. That damned dummy was sat there, staring right at him.

"Ooo, more flour, an' sugar, an' eg-" Murdock stopped suddenly. "Face! Eggs! Need eggs!"

Frozen in place, Face couldn't tear his eyes from the lifeless black ones. The menacingly looking expression on the painted face of the dummy seemed to paralyse him. He could feel his heart beating in his throat, sweat prickling the hairs on the back of his neck...

"Face!"

Blinking quickly, he shook himself free and grabbed the eggs, turning his back on the doll at the table. "Here, buddy. How many?"

"Three. No, make that four... we're wingin' it," Murdock grinned and sloppily stirred the cookie batter as Face cracked the eggs. Murdock then added a huge handful of chocolate chips, and a liberal sprinkle of chilli flakes - for that added bite, the pilot explained, because it was Halloween.

Fifteen minutes later, three trays of generous chocolate chip chilli cookies were happily baking away in the large stove that dominated the kitchen. The smell was delicious, and had tempted BA in earlier, which pleased Murdock.

The pilot switched on the small portable television set, sat down with the remote next to Face and flicked through the channels. Face absently leafed through yesterday's newspaper.

"Hey."

Face heard something and slid his eyes to Murdock, but saw him engrossed in a cartoon he'd found, and carried on reading.

"Hey, bitch."

Frowning, Face snapped his head up. That was not nice. But Murdock wasn't looking at him. Maybe it was the TV. He slowly started reading again.

"You like to take it in the ass, dontcha, bitch," the low, gravelly voice sounded again. Face sucked in a breath and held it. His eyes moved in between him and Murdock to see Sonny there, slumped over, tucked behind the pilot on his chair. Those lifeless eyes upturned towards Face.

"What did you just say?" he hissed hesitantly, not wanting to believe that Murdock would say such a thing to him in the first place.

"Huh?" asked Murdock, eyes still on the cartoon.

"Murdock, we've gotta talk about these... insults," Face frowned hard, frustrated that his best buddy had not only insulted him, but was apparently acting like he didn't.

"Insults?" Murdock looked at the lieutenant puzzled. "What insults?"

Sighing deeply, Face closed his eyes. He didn't want to upset the pilot, but what Murdock was doing had to stop, before someone lashed out and hurt him.

"You can't say stuff like that and blame the dummy, buddy," he explained. Murdock blinked, not really sure what Face was talking about.

"I... Facey, I don't-"

"What you just said to me hurt my feelings, HM," Face continued. "Like earlier, what you said to BA hurt his feelings, too."

Murdock's eyes widened. "But I didn't say that to BA. Sonny did."

"And that's the problem, isn't it?" Face said. "Sonny is just a doll, he's not real. It's you, buddy, that said them, not him."

"But-"

"And you can't be doing that." Face paused and chewed on his inner cheek. "If you have an issue with me and Hannibal, talk to us, or me... Please, don't just throw hurtful insults at me."

Frowning, Murdock twisted in his seat. "What? I... I don't have issues with you an' bossman, Facey, what're you talkin' about?"

Blowing out a breath, the lieutenant rubbed his hands roughly over his face. He knew talking to the pilot was sometimes difficult, the man being slightly unbalanced, but Christ, it was frustrating.

"You just called me a bitch and told me I like it up the ass," he sighed and waited for Murdock's reaction. But where he expected maybe an apologetic, embarrassed blush for the hurtful remark, Face became annoyed at the angry stare the pilot instantly directed at the dummy instead.

"No," Face snapped and held up a warning finger. "No, HM, don't blame the doll. You said it."

"Facey, I-" started Murdock, shaking his head as he did so, and Face threw up his hands in despair. "Facey, I didn't say that! I wouldn't say that to you. Never. I swear!"

The desperate look on the pilot's face quickly deflated any anger and frustration Face was feeling, and the lieutenant stared at his buddy. He wished he knew what was going on in the pilot's head, wished he could help him, but he seriously didn't know how if Murdock refused to even admit what he was doing was a problem.

"Look, HM, I dunno what's goin' on with you, but if you need to talk, you know where to find me. Okay?" Face offered and stood up. He patted the pilot on the shoulder and left the kitchen.

Murdock blinked after him, confused and upset. What had happened? What had Face been talking about? He never said those horrible things to him. Or to BA earlier. He looked down at Sonny, the dummy sitting there looking so innocent, and dragged a hand through his hair.

Was it really him that was saying those things and he didn't know it? God, had he finally lost his final marble?

The stove timer pinged, and Murdock mechanically pulled out all the trays of cookies and set them down. He stared at them sadly. Cookies weren't gonna be enough to mend all the hurt he'd apparently caused.

^v^A^v^

The house was quiet by midnight, all the men retired to their respective bedrooms, the alarms switched on and active throughout the lower floor.

BA's snores could be heard resonating softly through the walls, which was a comfort to Murdock, who slept with a small nightlight. Face and Hannibal were wrapped together in a queen sized divan, content and smiling after a quiet reunion of their bodies.

All was silent and still.

Until Murdock bolted upright in his bed, eyes wide and frightened. He'd heard his name hissed right in his ear.

"Who's there?" he whispered and swallowed hard in the semi darkness. His eyes fell on Sonny sat on a chair at the end of his bed, and he stared at it, not daring to breath. The dummy stared back.

Deathly silent minutes passed and Murdock calmed himself down. He lay back and closed his eyes again, pulling the sheets tight over his head.

"S'nothin' there... nothin' there," he mumbled softly. "S'just the wind... nothin' there..."

^v^

"What is it, love?" Hannibal slurred sleepily when he saw Face perched up on his elbow in the bed, listening to something.

"Did you hear that, boss?"

Hannibal cocked his head and listened. "No. What?"

"I dunno," Face murmured, quietly climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the door. He pressed his ear against it, eyes narrowed. Hannibal sat up and reached for his gun.

"Get some boxers on, kid," he whispered as he pulled his own on. He handed Face his pistol and they slowly opened the bedroom door. "I'll check downstairs, you check on BA and Murdock."

"Okay," Face nodded and they parted ways, guns steady, naked except for boxer shorts.

Turning the corner on the landing, Face sucked in a sharp breath when he saw that damned ventriloquist dummy sitting on the floor by BA's room. Face frowned and stepped over it, carefully opening the big guy's door.

"BA," he hissed. BA's head lifted. "You okay, man?"

"Yeah. S'up?" BA asked and rubbed at his eyes.

"Just doin' a sweep. Looks okay though," Face answered softly, but BA sat up and groped around for his weapon anyway, and headed for the window, instantly alert. "Let ya know when we're done." BA nodded.

Face retreated back and headed towards Murdock's room, frowning when he saw the door already ajar. "Murdock?" he whispered as he pushed it cautiously open. He saw the pilot cocooned under his sheets and quietly walked over and nudged him. Murdock yelped and almost fell off the bed.

"Whoa, take it easy, Murdock," Face said and held up his hand. "It's only me."

Wide blue-green eyes flicked around the room. "Facey?"

"Yeah, man. You okay?"

"Wha'?"

Frowning, Face watched as the pilot rubbed shaky hands over his face. "Hey, you alright, buddy?" he asked again, worried now.

"Yeah. Whassup?" the pilot nodded and yawned.

"Just checkin' the house. You go back to sleep, buddy," Face murmured, before adding, "Oh, an' don't leave your doll out in the hall again. I nearly fell over the damn thing."

Murdock's eyes snapped towards the empty chair at the end of his bed and he his heart all but stopped. He heard Face leave and talk with BA and Hannibal, but couldn't tear his stare from the place where he'd left Sonny. And all sorts of scary things running through his head stopped him from getting back to sleep at all that night.

^v^A^v^

"Mornin' captain," Hannibal nodded when Murdock dragged his tired body into the kitchen. He sat down and pillowed his head into his arms on the table. "Where's Sonny?"

Bloodshot eyes squinted up at the mention of that name.

"You okay, kid? You look like shit," Hannibal pointed out helpfully and Murdock just moaned pitifully and dropped his head again.

BA was no better, as he chuckled at the sight of the bedraggled looking pilot sat in his flannel PJ's and slippers at the table. He closed the kitchen door and headed to the fridge. "I done a perimeter sweep. Ain't no sign o' tracks, Hannibal," he said and chuckled again at the serious case of bed head the pilot was sporting.

"Okay, BA, thanks," Hannibal nodded and picked up his coffee, deciding that whatever Face had heard the night before was probably just an animal or bird.

Wiping his mouth, BA put his glass in the sink and left the kitchen still chuckling. Murdock frowned at him.

"Did you sleep last night?" Hannibal asked after a moment of scrutinising his pilot's appearance. Murdock shook his head.

"Night spookies," he mumbled and closed his eyes, deciding that sleeping in the kitchen table was suddenly the best idea in the universe. Hannibal apparently thought differently.

"No you don't kiddo, up y'get," he said and heaved the man from the table and led him into the living room. "Have a nap there, Murdock," he smiled and covered the pilot with a comforter. Murdock yawned, snuggled into the sofa cushions and fell instantly asleep. Hannibal shook his head mumbling about crazy pilots and crazy dreams.

He headed back to the kitchen and started a new pot of coffee for his lover, and dug out the waffles from the freezer.

^v^A^v^

Stretching, Face wandered over to the dresser and pulled out his clothes. He yanked the towel from his hips and rubbed his hair again, blinking the vestiges of sleep from his eyes his shower hadn't quite managed. Yawning and idling scratching his chest, he moved the towel from his head and dried his groin, flinging it through the bathroom door when he'd done. He sat on the bed and closed his eyes.

Snapping them open, he cocked his head listening intently. What was that? The soft scuttling sounded again and Face quickly stood up and spun around.

"Fuck," he hissed, lowering himself to his knees to look under the bed. "Please... not rats..."

The noise caught his left ear and he looked up towards the door, but saw nothing. He frowned uneasily... If they had rats... A shudder ran through him. He hated rats.

Quickly yanking on his clothes, Face hurried out of the bedroom door to tell the team his unfortunate discovery, and tripped at the top of the stairs, landing in an ungainly heap at the bottom. But before his vision blacked out, Face thought he saw Sonny grinning at him from the top step.

^v^A^v^

"What the fuck..." Hannibal grunted and rushed to the hallway, his eyes widening when he saw his lover unconscious, bruised and bloody at the bottom of the stairs. "Face!"

Carefully turning Face over, Hannibal winced at the nasty cut and graze down one side of his face. A deep bruise was already blossoming around one eye, and the kids arms were banged up pretty good too.

"Aw, Face, what happened?" Hannibal murmured as he took in the damage, nothing broken, thank God. He gently patted his lover's cheek, mindful of the injuries there. "C'mon, kid, wake up for me now," he coaxed, running his fingers through the soft, damp, caramel curls checking for lumps. He grimaced when his hand came away tacky with blood.

"Boss, what-" BA stopped in his tracks. "Faceman?"

"Help me get him up, BA," Hannibal said and hooked his arms under Face's shoulders. BA lifted his legs.

"He okay, boss? What the fuck happened?" BA frowned as they carefully carried the man into the lounge and place him on the other sofa.

"Took a spill down the stairs by the looks of it," Hannibal said and rubbed at his face. "Fetch me some warm water and the medical kit, please," he added softly.

Five minutes later, cleaned and patched up, Face started to stir. Hannibal cupped his face and leaned in.

"Face, open your eyes, kid, c'mon," he urged. Face moaned and winced as his injuries painfully introduced themselves to him.

"Ahhh God," he slurred. "Shit."

"Open your eyes," Hannibal repeated softly. Face lifted his eyelids to a fuzzy world and he blinked rapidly until his focus cleared.

"Boss?" he breathed. "Wha' happ'ned?"

BA frowned hard and dragged a hand over his mohawk. Hannibal gently prised open an eye when Face closed them again. His pupil's a little sluggish. Mild concussion.

"You fell down the stairs, kid," the colonel explained. Face stilled his gaze on his lover.

"I did?" And then the memories all came back. The rats, hurrying from the room, falling... and that damned dummy... "Sonny," he gasped.

"That fool dummy?" BA grunted loudly. Murdock startled awake and sat up, eyes instantly widening at the sight of his best friend bruised and prone on the second sofa.

"Oh my God, what happened, Facey?" he asked as he scurried over to Face. Hannibal grabbed his hand and held it reassuringly.

"He just took a spell down the stairs, Murdock. He'll be okay," the colonel promised and let the captain gingerly hug the battered lieutenant.

"Oh Facey, look at you," Murdock sighed when he pulled back. Face pulled in a painful breath and closed his eyes again. Hannibal quickly leaned forward.

"No, you don't kid," he said and carefully helped the man to sit up. "No sleeping. Concussion, kid," he clarified. Face nodded and leaned his aching head against Hannibal's shoulder.

"No sleepin'," he slurred softly.

"That's my boy," Hannibal smiled and settled back with his lover. "Murdock, glass of water, please."

The pilot jumped up and returned just as quick with the water, and soon Face was relaxing comfortably, watching mind-numbing daytime TV with Hannibal.

By early evening, the lieutenant was back on his feet and feeling rather sheepish about the whole spill down the stairs thing.

^v^A^v^

But that was just the start of a string of unexplained accidents...

The next day, as BA worked on his van, the jack holding up the vehicle suddenly collapsed just as the big guy fortunately rolled out from under it. The wheel axel was damaged though, and BA was fuming about that. It could have been a helluva lot worse.

The same day, Hannibal slipped on the kitchen floor, his shoe sliding through spilt cooking oil, and twisted his knee. But nobody could explain the oil.

Two days later, the water in Murdock's shower scolded his skin when it suddenly turned red hot, blistering the skin on his shoulder. The poor pilot couldn't even wear his favourite shirts until the burns healed, but he coped with the pain as well as he could. After BA had checked out the water heater, he couldn't explain why it had happened.

A Spaghetti Bolognese meal turned into a free for all in the bathrooms after an empty bottle of Face's eye drops that he used when using his sniper rifle, was found at the bottom of the pan. Face was furious in between bouts of vomiting. Those eye drops were order in only. And who the fuck had been snooping in his sniper case?

That was a night the team _never_ wanted a repeat of.

Noises in the dead of night had the men up more than once, breaking fitful sleeps, and, much to Face and Hannibal's annoyance, interrupting quiet love making sessions.

Things went missing, only to be found later in ridiculous places. Tempers were seriously frayed. And then, after days of mishaps, the last straw was when Face cut his feet stepping on broken glass as he climbed out of the shower. Digging the glass from his lover's sore and tender flesh, and listening to the muffled yelps and cries was enough to give Hannibal nightmares for a week.

^v^A^v^

"What the hell is goin' on?" Hannibal growled that night at the kitchen table. He had Face's bandaged feet in his lap and couldn't stop looking at the yellowing bruises littering his beautiful boy's body and face. "We're not usually this accident prone for one!"

Hannibal was at his wits end. They all were.

"I dunno, bossman, maybe it's 'cause it's Halloween tonight?" Murdock offered. BA scowled at him. Murdock scowled back. "Y'never know, Bosco. A full moon out there an' all the crazies come out!"

"Crazy like you, fool," BA grunted menacingly and glared even harder. Murdock pulled his ventriloquist dummy tighter to his chest and pursed his lips.

"Maybe it's 'cause you're all crazy."

Three sets of eyes turned to Murdock. The pilot blinked back. "What?"

"I ain't crazy, fool," BA hissed.

"I know that, Bosco," Murdock agreed. "I didn't say you were."

"Yeah, you did," the big guy countered.

"No, I didn't.

"You did!"

"I did not!"

"Boys!" Hannibal stopped them and banged his fist down on the table top. "This is not helping! Murdock, you did say that. You just called us all crazy! And you know what? Maybe we are!"

"See? Toldya!"

This time three sets of eyes fell on the dummy.

What. The. Fuck!?

BA's dark glare widened impossibly and he launched out of his chair and back up against the wall. He pointed to the doll, "It.... It t-talked!" he stammered shocked nearly white.

Sonny's head slowly swivelled around until it was looking up at Murdock. "Surprise!"

The pilot shoved it off his knee and scrambled off his chair, landing on the floor on his ass, practically stunned silent.

The dummy righted itself and stood up, cold, black, eyes scanning the room. Hannibal watched it carefully. Ventriloquist dummy or not, it was still a potential threat to his men and himself. His fingers wrapped around a butter knife.

Face, on the other hand, was absolutely scared rigid. Eye's wide and locked, skin white, breath coming in short, pained gasps.

Okay, so apparently he _was_ automatonophobic!

"I take it you guys wanna take me back, then?" Sonny asked, its wooded head moving slowly. "I'm too much doll for ya, huh?"

No one spoke. No one could.

"That's a real big shame, that," Sonny continued, now walking haphazardly towards Hannibal and Face. "'Cause I liked you guys. You're so much more... smarter that the others. They were easy to... kill," it finished darkly and twisted to look right at Face.

If Face was white before, he turned practically transparent now as the last of the colour drained from his skin, and he sat paralysed with fear staring at what absolutely could not be happening.

"W-why d'ya wanna kill us?" Murdock asked from the other side of the table. Sonny turned to look at him.

"Fun, of course!" it replied. "Ain't much fun bein' stuck in a box for years at a time. A doll's gotta have some fun! And I think I'll start with... the boss first. Top to bottom. Orderly fashion an' all that..."

Murdock's eyes slid over to Hannibal just as the dummy launched itself. Both Hannibal and the doll landed on the floor in a heap, Sonny pressing its stubby, wooden hands into the boss' throat. BA and Murdock ran forward and pulled it off Hannibal, only to have the thing turn around and clamp its trapdoor mouth on Murdock's ear and bite down hard. The pilot screamed.

"Fuck! BA, get the rope," Hannibal gasped and scrambled towards Murdock. He grabbed the doll from behind, and then was suddenly face to face with it.

"Bossman," it growled and slammed its hard, wooden head right into Hannibal's, stunning the man for a second. Hannibal let go and Sonny jumped up, grabbed the butter knife from the colonel's hand, and went for him again.

But it was suddenly stopped by a pair of hands, and the doll was jerked away from Hannibal and shoved to the floor, a determined knee in its back.

"Now let's see who's scared of whom, bitch," Face sneered and pulled at the doll's arms harder until the thing dropped the knife. Hannibal sat up and grinned at his lover.

"Rope, Hannibal," BA announced as he ran back into the kitchen. His mouth flopped open when he saw that Face had immobilised the living dummy.

"Go Facey!" Murdock cried and jumped to his feet. He ran off to get the case Sonny came in.

BA and Hannibal tied Sonny up securely and stood back. The dummy scowled at them all. "You ain't won nothin'," it hissed. "You think you beat me? You're wrong, bitches!"

"Yeahyeahyeah," Murdock rolled his eyes and folded the ventriloquist dummy back inside the case and locked it up tight.

They all stared at the now silent box.

"Y'know, I don't wanna be a ventriloquist anymore," Murdock murmured with a frown. Face limped over to his best friend and draped an arm around his shoulder, ignoring the sticky blood on the pilot's neck.

"I don't want you to be a ventriloquist, either. I want you to be you, buddy," he smiled. The pilot smiled back.

^v^A^v^

Bruised, battered and sore, the four men drove back into the small town and back to the curiosity shop where Face and Murdock had bought Sonny from in the first place.

"She told us she'd see us again," Murdock mused as he saw the small store. Face frowned uncomfortably. Murdock was right. Hannibal glanced at them puzzled.

"Owner of the store said we could bring Sonny back... In fact, I think she knew we would be bringing him back, boss," Face explained. "I think she knows what that the dummy is... possessed, or whatever."

Hobbling out of the car with his bad knee, Hannibal grabbed the case and held the door open for BA. "Okay. You two, stay in the car. We'll be a minute," he said and disappeared with the big guy into the store.

"I see you brought Sonny back," the woman in sixties garb smiled sweetly at them. Hannibal placed the case on the counter.

"I wanna know exactly what this is, lady," he insisted, eyes hard and no nonsense.

The woman raised her eyebrows and opened the case, tutting when she saw the dummy secured tightly with rope. "I take it he was a naughty boy, then?"

BA grunted and scowled at her. She nodded knowingly.

"You could say that," Hannibal answered. "Is it... possessed?"

"Ah, not quite, sir," the woman smiled and untied the dummy, sitting it up on the counter and straightening its clothes. "More like... cursed."

"Well, whatever, lady, that thing is dangerous!" BA growled. "Need's destroyin'!"

"I couldn't do that," she said seriously. "It's not Sonny's fault. He was once a man, you know."

Hannibal rolled his eyes and took a quick step back when Sonny twisted its head and looked at him.

"I was. Just like you," it said, a hint of... sadness in its voice.

"Welcome home, Sonny," the woman smiled at it and Sonny stared at her silently for a moment before climbing back into its box and closing its own lid.

"You should keep that... thing locked away, lady," Hannibal said carefully, but the woman just smiled sweetly at him again.

"Now, why would I want to do that?" she asked, fingers playing with a set of charms she had around her neck. "Sonny has to have his fun."

"Fun? That... thing nearly killed us," BA growled, realising with a cold shiver that the incident with the jack was probably Sonny, and therefore no accident.

"Nearly?" the woman cocked her head to one side and smirked. She patted the case and stared at the men.

Both BA and Hannibal took a step back at the crazy gleam in her eyes, and left the store, heading quickly back to the car.

"So, was it possessed?" Face asked.

"I think she did it, Hannibal," BA interrupted with an odd look. Hannibal looked back at the store in his side mirror and saw the woman watching them. A shudder ran down his spine.

"I think you're right," he said quietly.

Murdock and Face glanced at each other.

"Did what?" the pilot asked.

"Never mind," Hannibal shook his head and pulled the map from under his seat.

It was time to move states!

^v^A^v^

Three hours later, the team was packed up and on the way across country to another location, as far away from Maine, that curious little store, the scary old woman and her cursed ventriloquist dummy, as they could get!

And Murdock was quite happy that Halloween was now nearly done for another year.

 

 _fin_


End file.
